New | Identities of 96 victims in Kunshan factory blast confirmed by DNA testing
List reveals the workers who perished in blast had come from various parts of the mainland
The identities of more victims in the deadly Kunshan factory explosion have been confirmed by DNA tests, including that of two men and 21 women who were killed.
The Kunshan government released the sheet on Tuesday morning – four days after the blast – which also listed the names of 73 people who were injured.
The 23 fatalities came from the provinces of Anhui, Jiangsu, Sichuan, Henan, Gansu, Shandong and Hebei, according to the paper, which listed the workers' names, gender and home province.
The blast had ripped through the car parts factory owned by Taiwanese-backed Kunshan Zhongrong Metal Products on Sunday morning as more than 260 workers were inside. At least 75 people were killed and 186 were injured.
Dust had ignited spark plugs in a workshop, causing the explosion, according to a preliminary investigation, Yang Dongliang, chief of the State Administration of Work Safety, told Xinhua.
The sparks were traced back to a workshop used to polish car wheel hubs.
Watch: Scores dead and hundreds injured in Jiangsu factory explosion
The government was only able to release the first list of victims on Monday evening, with the names of 16 dead and 14 wounded, as police needed to conduct DNA tests to confirm the people’s identities.
However, distraught relatives and friends struggled to come to grips with the reality of their loved ones’ death, written on paper.
"How can the name Ge Guoping be listed even if his relatives didn’t take DNA tests?” one family member was quoted by Dahe Daily as saying after the first list was released.
Most of the staff in the polishing workshop were aged between 35 and 45 and were their families’ breadwinners, previous reports said.
The explosion has renewed concerns over the dangerous work conditions in mainland factories.
Preliminary investigations showed that the 2,000 square metre workshop was designed for 29 production lines and about 300 workers, but was not equipped with sufficient dust-removal equipment.
Local authorities were also blamed for “inadequate supervision”. The Kunshan Economic and Technological Development Zone, where the Zhongrong plant was located, only has four employees to oversee production safety, according to the Modern Express newspaper.
In the wake of the tragedy, the State Council’s work safety committee has demanded that all factories must inspect for the presence of magnesium or aluminium dust to “curb any possibilities of similar accidents”, news website Xinhuanet.com reports.
Provincial authorities in Jiangsu have also vowed to take a “zero tolerance” approach to safety lapses when it undertakes a safety inspection in industrial zones, construction sites, schools, hospitals, entertainment venues, airports, bus stations and scenic spots.
FULL LIST OF DECEASED (Translation):
Women:
Liu Lan (Jiangsu)
Li Yun (Jiangsu)
Tang Juhua (Jiangsu)
Jiang Yingmei (Jiangsu)
Yu Xiunian (Jiangsu)
Xiang Cunxiu (Hubei)
Bian Zhencui (Anhui)
Wei Ping (Anhui)
Zhang Shengxiu (Anhui)
Pan Yuanhua (Anhui)
Li Xiaopei (Henan)
Zhu Fengying (Henan)
Wang Shufeng (Henan)
Cheng Ronghuan (Henan)
Zhang Fengyun (Hubei)
Li Xiaoping (Sichuan)
Luo Jihui (Sichuan)
Zhou Hongmei (Gansu)
Ge Chuanrong (Anhui)
Wu Man (Henan)
Liu Limei (Henan)
Men:
Liu He (Shandong)
Gao Can (Henan)
